Meet the Team: Cedric Josey, Culture & Societies Instructional Specialist

Here at Eagle Rock, Societies and Cultures is our equivalent of Social Studies, and Cedric Josey, who has taught in middle schools and high schools in Massachusetts, is our new culture & societies instructional specialist.

While his new position makes Cedric the person on our campus primarily responsible for curriculum objectives related to world and U.S. history, physical and cultural geography, U.S. government, and civics, it’s his love and pursuit of original works of music that we’d like to highlight in introducing him to the Eagle Rock Community.

Cedric’s love of music began while singing in a church choir as a child, and he later remembers driving his neighbors a bit crazy while learning to play the saxophone. So, years later, when he found himself living alone in a New Bedford, Mass., apartment, he picked up a guitar and quietly learned to play and write music in order to avoid disturbing those around him.

Most impressive, while working with Destination New Bedford — an effort of the City of New Bedford’s Office of Tourism and Marketing to highlight that seaside town’s unique attributes — Cedric wrote and produced a song called “Being in New Bedford,” that was used extensively in the city’s promotion efforts. (Scroll to the end of today’s post for a video featuring Cedric performing this song himself).

Beyond his love for music, and in addition to teaching in public middle and high schools, Cedric has worked with the Youth Corps within the State of Massachusetts’ Trustees of Reservations, which owns and cares for more than 25,000 acres across the Bay State. There, he provided youth in his community with an opportunity to learn in-depth leadership skills in an outdoor environment during the summer months. Ask him about it and Cedric will tell you it was an opportunity for him, as an African American male, to mentor youth in a way that highlighted an alternative path to success — outside of what society or peers might suggest.

For today’s post, we asked Cedric to fill us in on some additional details of his life and career to date, and here’s what he had to say:

Eagle Rock: Where did you go to college and what did you study?

Cedric Josey: I graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2004. My major was English Drama/Film and I minored in African American Studies.

Eagle Rock: Why did you choose to apply to, and then come to work for Eagle Rock?

Cedric: What attracted me to Eagle Rock was the project-based teaching model and philosophy of enduring understanding. I like that Eagle Rock really wants to teach things that are meaningful to students and in a way that they remember what they learn for years to come. I also like that we prepare students to be positive members of society and leaders in their communities.

Eagle Rock: Please tell us about your hobbies or interests outside of work?

Cedric: When not working, I like to read, ride my motorcycle, and write songs that I can sing while playing the guitar.

Eagle Rock: What reality television show would you like to be on, and why would you win or be the first person kicked off?

Cedric: I would be on The Real World — only because I had a suite mate in college who ended up being on that show. I’d get kicked off for not being dramatic enough.

Eagle Rock: We realize you’re new here, but what’s one thing that you’ve noticed and are impressed by?

Cedric: That would be two former students who are now working for Eagle Rock and one former student who is on a second year as a Public Allies fellow.

Eagle Rock: What’s something most people would be surprised to learn about you?

Cedric: One thing many people don’t know about me is that I attended a performing arts school from the time I was 6 until I was 16 years old.

Editor’s Note: Please help us in welcoming Cedric to Eagle Rock. If you have questions about his career path, work with youth in Massachusetts, or the songs he writes (including the one featured in the video below), please leave a comment/question for Cedric below.